NFL Draft: Reggie McKenzie’s Top 5 Picks for the Raiders
By Justin Smith
4. T.J. Carrie, 7th Round, Pick 219, 2014 NFL Draft
The 2014 draft was very kind to the Raiders, as you’ll see in this list. Stacy McGee could have been put here if not for injuries — and him now being a Washington Redskin. But Carrie is deserving regardless of McGee.
Carrie earned his spot on this list by being the ultimate team player and developing a versatile skill set that makes him invaluable to the team. Carrie got drafted and is currently listed as a strong safety — but due to need and his coverage ability, Carrie has played plenty of snaps at both inside and outside corner as well.
The Raiders secondary has been one of the team’s perennial weaknesses, and Carrie has plugged the holes at corner and safety when injuries or ineffective play occur. He stepped in for D.J. Hayden when the former first-round pick struggled to play outside corner. When Hayden got injured last year Carrie took over at slot corner and did it well.
He has literally played every position in the secondary and done it effectively.
It isn’t just his defensive play that makes Carrie a valuable member of the Silver & Black. He returns punts and kicks, is a great special-teams player and a leader in the locker room.
Where will he play in 2017? Wherever the team needs him.
A seventh-round pick who is versatile enough to play safety or corner when needed, is one of the team’s top special teams players, and brings work ethic and character to the locker room is definitely one hell of a value pick.
3. Gabe Jackson, 3rd Round, Pick 81, 2014 NFL Draft
Jackson is a mammoth guard who mauls people. For the first two years of his NFL career he did it effectively on the left side of the line. Then, in 2016, he switched to the right.
That’s because the Raiders signed Kelechi Osemele and thus suddenly had one of the biggest and most skilled lines in the NFL. And KO likes the left side, so Gabe was switching. The line would be dominant — if Jackson’s transition to the right worked out.
It did, to say the least. Jackson became a Pro Bowl alternate and helped to form one of the NFL’s top five rated offensive lines. Running lanes opened with frequency. “Carr” Insurance kept the QB protected better than any other save one in the NFL. The line was dominant.
When you consider the Raiders got Jackson and Keith McGill (4th round, Pick 116, 2014 NFL Draft) in a trade for their own 2014 3rd round pick (which the Dolphins used on Billy Turner, who isn’t in the NFL) Jackson’s value becomes that much nicer.
Since winning the starting job as a rookie Jackson hasn’t come off the field — and based on the off-season bonuses he earned this year, the team agrees he’s a valuable asset. You don’t top out veteran bonuses as a third-year player unless you’ve earned that gravy.
Getting a potential perennial Pro Bowl cornerstone on your offensive line in the third round? One who has already shown the versatility and team-first attitude to shift positions without any dropoff?
Nice. Pay that man!